EUSKADI hosts the 3rd Seas Forever Awards “Marine Stewardship Council” (MSC)

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policy of the Basque Government, Bittor Oroz, today opened the awards ceremony for the Seas Forever Awards, which was held at the Kursaal Conference Centre in Donostia, organised by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international non-profit organisation that has been working for more than 25 years to make fishing a sustainable activity.

These awards recognise the commitment of the entire value chain involved in sustainable fishing in the state. The AZTI Foundation, Kofradia Itsas Etxea – Izan Arrantzale, and Grupo Eroski were some of the organisations receiving awards in the twelve categories of this third edition of the awards.

Deputy Minister Oroz stressed that “the Basque Institutions advocate laying the foundations for a Basque and European fisheries sector that is competitive and profitable, but not only that: we also want it to be sustainable from a social and environmental point of view. The Basque Country has been and will continue to be a benchmark in the world of fishing so that this practice is carried out in a way that respects the environment”.

During the award ceremony, MSC Senior Scientist Katie Longo gave a presentation on climate change and the future of sustainable fisheries, the importance of finding new and better ways to use scientific advances to inform fisheries management and sustainable seafood markets. Longo collaborates with scientists from other parts of the world, and has co-created the Ocean Health Index, developed tools to improve the management of data-limited fisheries, the economic and social impacts of MSC eco-certification, as well as detection methods for traceability of fish products.

Press release